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ROSALINE 

BY B. M. 3ESHSHURE 



" Go little book from this my solitude. 

I cast thee on the waters — go thy ways! 
And if, as I believe, thy vein is good, 

The world will find thee after many days." 

- Byron 



Copyright 1908 



1908 

PRESS OF TIMES-SUN 

WEST NEWTON, PA. 



LIBRARY of congress: 
I wo Copies ttecetve< 

JUL 22. wa 









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J, C. AiiEr^OY, D. D. 



DEDICA TOR Y 



Dear Sir : 

In you I found a heart that throbs with affection, a 
soul that flutters with peace and good will along the riotous 
fretting shore of life; in you I met a human that walks in 
the footsteps of the divine ; in you I have found a friend. 

Accept, I pray, these golden dreams of my youth, 
these rhythmic beats of my young heart, these sighs on the 
vanities of modern society, these aspiring hopes and wishes 
sung in the bosom of this glorious Republic. 

Sincerely, 

B. M. BESHSHURE 

West Newton, Pa.. June I, 1908. 



ERRATA 



Page 9, line 1, read "against" instead of 'gainst. 

Page 14, line 27, read "bid me nearer" instead of 
bid nearer. 

Page 14, line 28, read " lap " instead of lips. 

Page 23, line 42, read " advance " instead of progress. 

Page 31, line 18, read " utter" instead of outer. 

Page 32, line 27, read " throbs" instead of thorb.s. 

Page 36, line 31, read "patriotism" instead of pa- 
trotism. 

Page 35, line 40, read " success" instead of progress. 

Page 47, line 18, read " the" instead of thy. 



[yosalioe 



The sun was sinking in the west, 
■Emitting from his couch of death. 
Soft crimson rays that lit the crests 
Of yon high tufted hills that swoop'd 
Along the moaning, rocky, shore ; 
And lent the eve more awe, and wrapt 
Within their dales' a nightly gloom. 

There was a fire within the clouds ; 

There was a fire beyond the hills; 

There was a raging fire in our 

Young hearts as we together moved 

Along the shore, from rock to rock, 

Her hand in mine, my heart in hers — 

Both fiying on the wings of love 

Two beings— one soul, one heart, one mind. 

Each being the other's world and life. 

The air he breathes, and the light 

That guides him and the gentle heart 

That throbs within his heaving breast. 

And beats' a music known to love. 

Enchanted, and bewilder'd by 

The grandeur of that golden eve. 

We lastly settled on a rock 

Just by a pretty little cove, 

Where weaklings of the dreadful sea, 

And wee young fishes swarmed around. 

And found a refuge peaceful, safe. 

That shelter'd their little, harmless lives. 

And free from cares, they jostled about. 

And sparkled in that shaded cove 

Like little pearly stars of night. 



ROSALINE 

She sat beside me, fair, divine. 
Voluptuously adding to 
The beauty of the scenes around 
And shared my silence and my dreams. 
I gazed upon the heaving main, 
And gazed upon her brilliant eyes, 
In whose profoundness I did loose 
My heart, my soul, my life, my all. 
My sobbing and my tears could not 
Quell that love tempest within me. 
I dropped into the fath'mless depth, 
My dreams, my fancies and m}' cares. 
That with the plashing, murm'ring tide 
Beat 'gainst the rocks, and in the cove, 
Both died out 'neath her sacred feet. 

O ! happy and rueful hour that passed, 
And buried itself deep in the clasps 
Of love adventures and love haps ! 
Come back to me ! Oh ! back to me. 
All nature twit me of thy grief 
That, mixed with a voluptuous joy. 
Shakes all the bonds of heart and soul. 
And leaves the lover, smiling, sad. 
And to the mercy of the tears. 

The sun sat down behind the hills. 
And twilight followed, and the gloom, 
The faded gloom, that usher'd the night, 
Reign'd o'er the ocean and the shore, 
And nature, dreamless, slept beneath. 
The wind was calmed into a breeze, 
Fresh, cheering, and melodious, too. 
The waves quelled down to ripples mild. 
And silence, deep, all over reign'd. 
Save in our hearts that louder beat. 

The darkness made us oftener gaze. 
And gaze more ardently upon 
Each other, fearing lest the gloom 
Would hide us both behind her screen. 



ROSALINE 

But love, a power that holds a sway 

O'er nature, and reforms her laws, 

Showed her fair face more bright and fair 

More gentle, more attractive, and 

The crimson rays that linger'd still 

Above the dark horizon lent 

Her cheeks a faded hue divine. 

Her golden ringlets veered and swayed 

And flr.tter'd with the breeze and cast 

Faint shadows on her white forehead 

That looked like ocean shaded with 

The shadows of the evening clouds. 

The day grew paler, darker, and 
The twilight crept into the night 
That hid beneath its sullen wings 
All things and silenc'd time and life. 
I summon'd my shatter'd senses, and 
With a reverential spirit looked 
At that fair angel by my side. 
That with a halo bright was crowned. 
I saw her tearful— and her tears 
Were glistening, dropping in her lap 
And running there in runnels fast, 
And rivulets with murmur sweet. 

O! What a doleful tempest broke 

And stirred the elements in my heart. 

I drew little nearer to her side, 

I clasped her gentle pretty hand. 

And quivering, knelt and stammer'd words 

That meant more worship than did love. 

She turned to me, a ravishing being 
Whose silence e'en was plenitude 
To my repining, famished heart. 

Distracted with our love and hopes 

And fancies and love's esctasy, ' 

We totter'd in each others' arms, 

And sighed, and sobbed, and wept and washed 



ROSALINE 

Our cheeks with kisses and with tears — 
The souvenirs of Parting Day, 
Viaticum of murder'cl love. 

The scintillating stars began 

To wan and loose themselves in space. 

The hills assumed a silv'ry hue 

As their crests toward the bright'ning east 

Were towering gigantically. 

The queen of night sat on her throne, 

And darkness fled before the moon, 

Who rose with all her heavenly sheen 

To solemnize our parting eve. 

We were still by the sacred rock 

That witnessed our sad last farewell* 

And were, upon its sacred breast, 

Invoking all the bliss of heaven, 

And heaping there our warmest love. 

We both knelt down in sight of all 

The wakening powers of heaven and earth. 

That all with hark'ning ears and hearts, 

Dismayed by that sad touching scene, 

Cast down o'er us a solemn gaze. 

And as I felt her hand in mine 

And saw her kneeling by my side 

With eyes, uplifted, utt'ring soft 

Her sweet, sweet prayer of love ; I felt 

As if my heart and all were blown 

Ofif on her charming, madd'ning looks 

To some far region of the skies, 

To those dense groupings of the stars 

That aren't but glances from her eyes. 

It was then chilly, and the dew 
Was forming on the scarped rocks, 
And on the sands and gravels we trod 
And making them wet, slippery. 
The sharp, loud, monotonous sound 
Of insects and the harsh loud croak 
Of toads, and murmur of the waves, 



ROSALINE 

That quietly broke 'gainst the rocks, 

Were tilling our ears and tilling the shore, 

And echoing in our broken hearts 

An awe combined with dread and fear. 

We traveird homeward, speechless, mute, 

And frenzied b}' the morrow's cares. 

And pond'ring o'er the happy past, 

And o'er the barren future days. 

And wishing that night would but expand 

Itself into eternity. 

How sweet it was to gaze at her, 

And fill up my poor wretched heart 

With her divine, immaculate grace ; 

And sweeter still to shut mine eyes 

And contemplate her radiancy, 

That in my bleak and dreary heart 

Did shed the rays of paradise. 

Or to come closer to her side 

And touch her pretty tidy dress. 

At which cohabitation, I 

Did shudder like an autumn leaf. 

She was more than a friend to me, 

So her I pledged all love I had ; 

She was m^ore than a sister dear, 

So, her, embraced most dearly 

And said, fair Rosaline, beloved. 

Have pity on my sighs and tears ; 

Have pity on the heart that thou 

With golden chains of love hast bound 

And kept in bondage at thy feet. 

O, keep him yet lest he should die ! 

O, do not leave me, dear, to go 

Where neither I nor my night dreams, 

Xor my bereft and darken'd hopes 

Can reach a smile, or bitter tear ! 

She all suffused with blushes turn'd 
Her violet eyes, whose glances shone 
More bright than all the silv'ry rays 
That poured down from the glorious moon 
And danced upon her golden cheeks ; 



10 ROSALINE 

Then utter'd a sigh whose ravishing warmth 

Commingled with the bounteous wave 

Of her commotioned, sadden'd breast 

Did bring me nearer to my grave. 

Ah, happy hour ! when she did break 

The silence and into my ears 

She whisper'd her sweet words and said : 

"Beloved, thou cleft my heart in twain, 

Where cherish I a love for thee, 

That time nor fate can e'er subdue, 

Nor distance canker or decrease. 

Ask those dim stars of night how oft 

I watched them on my sleepless nights ; 

Ask that bright lapsing moon if she 

E'er met on her long endless course. 

But fragrant, faithful, silent prayers 

That my fond heart breathed up for thee ; 

Or hear the moaning deep repeat 

As it enfolds her favorite beach, 

My yearning to thy sweet old side. 

I'm bound to leave thee for a time. 

For Marg'ret, whom you know, so kind, 

Our dear old friend to me dispatched 

A message, with a cordial call 

To spend these summer's months with her 

In Paris, where at present she staj's. 

She tells me of a jolly time 

The}^ have, of all the social clubs. 

Of balls and dances which the Counts 

And Lords and barons do attend 

And make the gath'rings glitter with 

Their jovial spirits and their golds. 

There's now a chance for me to quote 

The latest fashions and the rules 

Of etiquette and modern styles 

At their congenial grand abode. 

Our land is flooded with all these. 

And our esteemed magnates have all 

Recoursed to them and gave to them 

Their best attention and their hearts. 

I wish, beloved, you could spare 

A time, along with me to go, 



ROSALINE 11 

But oh, how oft our best desires 
Betray the heart that gave them birth, 
And wrap it o'er with endless hopes." 

I felt a violent horrible shock 

Within my soul, that was to bid 

Her last farewell to peace and life ; 

And felt as if my breath was lost. 

And ghastly silence grapped my tongue. 

The city lights came to our sight, 

And glitter'd through the sluggish air, 

Breaking awa}^ the spell of night. 

The hum and hubbub in the streets ; 

The noise of traffic and of life 

Were looming louder in our ears. 

We passed the precincts, plunged into 

The wide and narrow streets and lanes 

And passed the thickest thoroughfares, 

Yet heedless of the hottest rush 

And closest jostling of the crowd. 

Our path expired at last, and lo ! 

Upon a gently sloping knoll 

We stood, beside a wicket gate 

On which the ivy wove her leaves 

And flowers cluster'd dewy gay. 

There Rosaline went in, alone, 

Caressing those tame plants that Ijent 

Their foliage round her gentle arms. 

I watched her glancing back at me. 

I watched her stalk in gracefully 

And quietly across the yard. 

Then through the door that she unlocked. 

My strength gave way I tottered down. 

I lied upon the chilly grass 

And grapped the lattice of the fence. 

The moon had climbed high in the heavens, 

Shone down on dales and nooks and brooks, 

And bathed in her soft balmy rays 

The rose, the bud, the leaf, the twig 

The rampant thicket and the mound 

On which her mansion quietly stood, , 



12 ROSALINE 

Amidst the most delicious charm 

Of most enchanting summer nights. 

A window in the lower floor 

Was oped, and there the silv'ry rays, 

That pertly danced upon the blinds, 

Poured in with balmy lavishment. 

Lo ! Rosaline, with all her grace 

And captivating looks appeared. 

With yearning heart and ardent eyes, 

Half screened with tears of piety, 

I watched the moon of heavens salute 

And hail her sister of the earth. 

She laid her elbows on the sill. 

And laid her cheeks upon her hands. 

And there, more like an angel fair 

That hails the world with peace, she stood. 

And gazed on nature slumb'ring in 

The vales and wakening in the skies ; 

And mused and mused, then stalked across 

The room, then she showed up no more. 

Not e'err the full moon's brilliant rays, 

That struck and knelt down on the floor 

In supplication near her bed. 

Could show her shadow or her form. 

And not until a while elapsed 

Could I retrieve my shatter'd thoughts 

And gain a strength to raise myself. 

And stumble homeward down the slope. 

My fancy, stirred with dismal hue 

And tunes of sad and empty world. 

Did peal on me and break my heart. 

I planned to follow her abroad. 

And ever be at her sweet side, 

And ever look at her bright face, 

And ever beg her looks, and bask 

My heart in their benign sweet rays. 

Then cares and hardships did assail 

My plans, that seemed could not be swerved, 

And duties called me back and chained 

My aspirations and my dreams. 

O heaven and earth ! Has she indeed 



ROSALINE 13 

For me in her chaste dewy breast 

E'er cherished a love ; or how could she 

Let go an one like nie who lived. 

So solely, on her smiles and looks, 

And far from her, so wretched he was 

And liltle cared to live his life? 

But didn't she say, she did ; and what 

A symphony, a bliss, her words 

Did ring and echo in my ears? 

-Oh. yes ; and she avowed it too. 

"What ails thee, then, my heart?" I cried 

"x\nd what in heaven and on earth. 

In life and in eternity, 

For sweeter, gravest thou beside?" 

"Remand thy passions, heart, and hold 

Them in that golden leash of love 

That her sweet lips to thee avowed." 

A happy consolation did 

Then flutter in my dismal breast. 

And toppled down the loads of cares 

That crushed the flower of my youth. 

O, blessed confidence of love, 

O, pilot of the trouble-tost, 

O, anchor of the wavering hearts ; 

Akin to chaste young children trust 

To worship of the Deity. 

The road was rough'ning as I went. 

And swerving to the right and left ; 

And leading me through tilth and groves. 

Through thickets and through narrow creeks, 

Up hill, down hill, by granges, folds, 

By quarries and through shaded swamps. 

Through many a hedge and thorny fence. 

But gained the city streets at last. 

And soon into my room I stepped 

And locked up soon myself and plunged 

In bed fatigued, disturbed, dismayed. 

Now hopeful, now without a hope 

With passions veering, here and there. 

And fancies steering, far and wide, 

And mem'ries sweet and mem'ries sad. 

Stripped off m}- slumber, choked with sobs. 



14 ROSALINE 

F'or she between my eyelids posed 
And stole away my meager sleep. 
The clock struck ten, then struck eleven. 
Then round to twelve, then its click-clock 
Died out within my ears, for lo ! 

I saw her in a garden, gay 
With blossoms of the early spring. 
While singing what could never sing 
So sweetly all the linnets of May. 

She was then sitting by a spring. 
Her eyes bewitched the atmosphere, 
The tiny plants and daisies were 
Around her clasping in a ring. 

The birds w^ere sporting with sunshine. 
Leaves rustling, water murm'ring, too, 
And her sweet tunes were soaring through 
The purple space to realms divine. 

She seemed to me a being from heaven, 
A part of nature's grandest themes; 
I stood so dazzled in her beams. 
But with her glance my hope was risen. 

With throbbing heart I 'proached her side ; 
My tears were brimming, streaming out ; 
I laid my heart and life about 
Her feet and spoke my prayers and sighed. 

Another glance from her did charm 
My soul and bid nearer pace. 
In her sweet lips I hid my face, 
And round my neck she laid her arm. 

All things then changed; lo, there, I stood 
Upon a cliff that tower'd high, 
And loomed with me into the sky, 
And kept me o'er my fate to brood. 



ROSALINE 15 



Deep sighs and frets and furious roar 
Were crowding all the valley's bed 
From waters rushing down so red 
As if were fed with human gore. 

The threaten'd cliff opposed the act 
Of its unappeasable mad foe 
That, in its vehement furious flow, 
Pour'd through its heart a cataract. 

And howled at times with howling gusts 
And filled the chasm with froth and spray 
As its deep fathomless pathway 
Was hewing through the rocky crust. 

I sorrowed and did shudder with fear 
As there I stood bereft, forlorn. 
Deserted, broken down, lovelorn. 
Who lost all things in love but tears. 

There I called back love's vanished days, 
Whose splendor did, of old, to me. 
Eclipse time, life, eternity 
And flood creation with his rays. 

And pond'ring gazed upon the line 
Of scooping hills around with grief, 
And counted every falling leaf. 
To every falling hope of mine. 

No consolation, nay, all things 
Around breathed horror and alarm ; 
The woods, the river, and the arm 
Of fate that flung me on death's wings. 

The sun then at mid heaven posed. 
The trees half-stripped at autumn rounds 
Cast slight little shadows on their grounds, 
And all the forest's nooks exposed. 



1() ROSALINK 

Lo ! there beneath an aged tree 
My Rosaline had smiling stood, 
I leapt with joy and scarcely could 
Appease the heart that throbbed in me. 

1 summon'd my strength to fly to her ; 
I hurried back and hurried forth; 
T hurried wildly south and north ; 
But found I was imprison'd up there. 

To jump! A death infernal in 
The gorge's jaws, so ragged and stiff. 
Yet bitterer death upon the cliff, 
A death of yearning blazed within. 

But suddenly from the forest's heart 
Appeared a strange, suspicious beast 
That grovell'd stealthily abreast. 
Then on my Rosaline did dart ; 

•\nd through the forest with her sped : 
I shouted loud and wept and cried. 
And wakening, on a tearful tide 
I found me floating in my bed. 

ISiy heart was beating like a drum, 
My breath was dashing like a wave ; 
And looked as if out of the grave 
I, back to life and light did come. 

Absorbed in fancies scorched and burnt 

.-vn'.l shuddering still with horror fierce, 

Made to the door and soon was off 

With breathless hurry through the streets. 

The sun had climbed high in the East, 

Dispersing with his brilliant rays 

The thick, dark morning mist and lent 

The universe a joyous hue. 

But all was dark within my heart 

As on the depot's platform stood 

1, summoning him with silent blush 

To bid his angel sweet farewell. 



ROSALINfl 17 



Surrounded with her friends, and mates, 

And relatives fair Rosaline 

Came dressed up in a trav'ling suit. 

And stalking like a goddess of old. 

She had upon her breast a rose 

Still damp with balmy morning dew ; 

And to her stylish hat was pinned 

A beautiful bunch of violets. 

But fairest, sweetest than all buds. 

And blossoms and flowers of the spring, 

Were her fair bonny cheeks and eyes 

That dawned on me that parting morn. 

A distant, deep, resounded roar 
Did warn me of her train's approach ; 
A roar that billowed sadly in 
The crypts and arches of my heart. 
She looked around, and as her eyes 
Met mine in wavering, solemn gaze, 
She beckoned to me and stepped aside, 
I followed in a humble pace, 
And stood bewilder'd by her side. 
She stretched her arm to me, and as 
I pressed her hand in mine I felt 
That all my sorrows cower'd and shrank, 
And vanished, fading at her feet. 
"Good-bye, beloved" ! I mutter'd to her, 
'And when the quiet hours to come 
Shall stir within thy youthful breast 
The reminiscence of the past, 
Recall a friend that cherished thee, 
And plighted thee all love he had. 
And pledged at thy love's sacred shrine 
His heart, his life, his destiny." 

Oh! there, panted the giant train. 
As she bore down along the track. 
And smoked and whistled thunder-like, 
And flashed a hubbub in the crowd 
That stirred and rushed up to the cars; 
Then last of all beings followed I 
With broken heart and pleading looks, 



18 ROSALINE 

Helpless and tearful, mute, aghast, 

And watched her going up the steps. 

And watched the wheels and heard them screech, 

And saw them glide along the rails, 

And bear my sweetest life away. 

From rock to rock, from shade to shade ; 

Alone with my ill fated heart ; 

From park to park, from haunt to haunt ; 

From brook to grove, to yard, to bower, 

And seats of matchless, boundless joy. 

Where \\ e immiortalized our love, 

And our undreamt of wretchedness. 

How tediously my days did crawl ! 

How sadly crept my eves and nights! 

I spurned all social transient joys 

And fled to nature's bosom, where, 

1 met a soothing, kind caress. 

So sweet, eternal, and benign. 

Where laid I down my grief and cares, — 

Where I did tell my rueful tales ; 

For nature was a gentle friend 

That cared to wipe my tears awa}-. 

And in the rustling of the leaves, 

And in the murm'ring of its brooks. 

It lulled the pangs that chafed my heart. 

How oft, alone, upon the hills, 

Or 'neath a stooping, arched rock. 

Or lying on the grassy lawns, 

I dreamt my days from dawn to eve, 

From early, pearly gleam until 

The sunset blushing ceased to glare. 

Revolving deep within my breast 

The contemplations of my youth. 

And ever grasping in my hands 

Her beautiful picture that I loved, 

And cherished like a relic of saints, 

And gazing on and on until 

The rolling tears did screen my eyes. 

How oft I read out to the bright, 

Attentive, silent skies the sweet 

And tender, missives she had sent 



ROSALINE 19 

To me from board her sailing ship ; 

In which she told me of her sad, 

And lonely, tedious, gloomy hours ; 

Of all her longings, once again. 

Upon this happy shore, to stand, 

To tread upon the beautiful soil 

Of her free, glorious fatherland ; 

And read them o'er and o'er until 

Their sweet, harmonious echo could 

Be heard reverberated by 

The mould'ring rums of my heart. i 

One blithesome morning of the spring 

When verdure clothed the meads and vales ; 

After a drizzling shower past 

And left behind upon the grass. 

And on the leaflets of the trees, 

Bright drops of rain that spangled like 

Little pearly stars in sky of green. 

That morn I left out for my haunts 

Still worried by the old, old cares. 

And sighing still my favorite sighs 

That time for them had made a path 

Within the archives of my breast ; 

And made them sound more deep and sad. 

I was more restless, more dismayed, 

Despondent than ever before ; 

For since a tedious, great long lapse 

Of time she had not written me; 

And so forgotten by her felt 

I was upon this dreadful earth 

A sheer exile without a home, 

Without a cheerful ray of light. 

That morn I had a letter from her, 

The which I hugged a thousand times, 

But oh, to my all ruining despair 

It told an alter'd, false, base heart 

That reared an utter faithless love. 

I clenched her message in my fist 

And gnashed my teeth with anguish that 

Drove out my fancy, frantic, wild. 

I lost my way and dived amidst 

The shrubs and brambles in the woods. 



20 ROSALINE 

And roved astray till suddenly came 

To a big tree that stood upon 

A grassy solitary lawn. 

I sat me down in its thick shade 

And mused and ponder'd and recalled; 

And wept more tears than ever did. 

"Forbid it, Heaven!!" shouted I, 

'"Forbid it thou great God of Heaven. 

O, Rosaline's kind, noble heart ; 

Forgive it. Oh ! Forgive it all" ! 

I blushed with stinging sad remorse. 

My eyes were filled and clouded thick, 

My breast was choked, my breath withheld 

I sobbed and wept so bitterly. 

Dear Rosaline, that sacred being, 

Her words that chanted earth and heaven ; 

Her simple, noble heart that bloomed 

Beneath the sky of this free land. 

Have changed into a mockery, 

And she into a mere coquette ! 

"What ails thee, lad?" A soft low voice 

Rang in my ears, I turned my face, 

Lo ! there behind me stood a man 

With stately figure crowned with all 

The chaste and snowy glow of age. 

That leaning on his staff approached 

My side and took his seat upon 

The bed of grass. He laid his staff 

Upon his trembling succumbed knees 

And patted pertly with its tip 

His chobby-hairy, huge old dog 

That felt the quiet, comely spell 

Of his old master's gravity. 

And quietly lied beside him, and 

There gnarled those breezy hours away. 

"What raked that fire in thee, young man?" 

Resumed the old man, turning his 

Diqi foibled eyes askew at me. 

"What turned thee wild and made thee spurn 

Society to haunt the woods? 

What made thy tears so glibly flow, 



ROSALINE 21 

And thy young heart so wildly heave? 

Are all the consolations and 

The graces of God's heaven o'er done? 

Has God used up all his sweet peace? 

Brace up, O, passionate, tender lad ! 

For sorrow is a double sin : 

A crime 'gainst nature and a crime 

Against the great Creator, God. 

All eddying sobs and rolling tears 

Can ne'er restore the flying past, 

While cheer will make the present worth 

A thousand past, a thousand fold.'" 

And when he paused a while to gain 

His breath and pat his slumb'ring dog. 

I raised my head and gazed at him 

With eyes half dried up of their tears 

At his caressing, helpful w^ords ; 

Then suddenly broke again in sobs 

As a dear thought had flutter'd by 

The gateways of my mind, and leapt 

Away across the gorgeous skies 

With dear love mem'ries on its wings. 

''Break down that grasp of hopeless grief," 

He added, with compassionate tune ; 

"Thy looks, thy sighs and tears do all 

To me betray and tell a love." 

"Xay, more they tell a love, betrayed," 

Sobbed I, with quiv'ring, broken voice. 

"A maiden whom I loved, my sire, 

A maiden sweet and chanting, whom 

I worshipped next to the divine. 

She had the charm of muses and 

Upon her virginic cheeks and lips 

A lavishing rosy flush of youth 

E'er glowed with blithesome chastity. 

Her hair possessed the color of gold 

And was like those soft ruddy rays 

That falter in the sunset skies. 

And garland heaven and champion day. 

Her eyes, blue as the summer sky. 

Had cheer'd the gloomiest darkest souls 



22 ROSALINE 

And set the calmest heart on dreams, 

And with their cheerful, balmy rays 

Dried up the tears of time and fate. 

She was as gay and cheerful as 

The robin in the month of May. 

She had the prudence of the sage 

And had the mind of Socrates. 

Beneath the sky of this land she' 

Thrived as the lily of the field, 

And was at home a mountain nymph, 

A rose through winter and through spring. 

Together to the same school went ; 

And sat together at one desk ; 

And daily when the school was o'er 

Her books I carried home for her. 

She learned about the Saviour Christ, 

She learned of God in nature, and 

She studied nature and her laws, 

' And traced through countless ages life 

In all its stages and its growth. 

: She read of saints and patriots 

And heroes of the days of yore. 
And learned to walk in their footsteps. 
She had all that was to her sex 
Denied all o'er the world of man. 

They tell me we were born in May, 

The same day, almost the same hour. 

Out in our suburban cottage homes 

Amidst the flowers and at the song 

Of birds and tinkling of the brooks. 

We grew so much together and 

Our prattling infancy gave way 

To joyous, playful childhood and 

To friendliest companionship. 

We used to join the neighbors' tots 

And share them their playthings and toys. 

And join them in their outings, and 

Together hop on meads and fields. 

I always followed by her side. 

And she did always shed a bright 

And happy smile along my path. 



ROSALINE 23 

I picked her all the flowers she liked 

And never failed to deck her breast 

With roses that did match her cheeks ; 

And pin to her gay golden hair 

The dewy tufts of hyacinth. 

I had a satisfaction sweet, 

And doubtless in obeying her will 

I often wished her to suggest 

To me some errand or some deed. 

I asked her once if she desired 

Me chase a gaudy butterfly 

That lighted on a twig nearby. 

"No, thanks," replied she with a smile, 

'"Let him enjoy his life, for I 

Do hate all pleasures that would cause 

Somebody else's misery."' 

So frankl}', sweetly utter'd she 

Xhose words that did her heart bespeak, 

And did my heart with virtue touch. 

So deep in my young soul they were 

Impressed that now they sound so fresh 

As if were told but yesterday; 

For we, my sire, are simply what 

Our maidens' hearts want us to be. 

Whene'er I missed her, but one day 

I grieved and felt my heart ablaze. 

Whene'er I wept naught soothed my heart 

Save her sweet looks, and gentle hand 

That wiped my "precious" tears away. ] 

(She always called them precious, alas!) 

And brought my cheeks in touch with hers. 

And with her bounteous, radiant smile 

Reflected glorious, sparkling hues 

That ne'er a sun could form on rains. 

No milder passions later years 

Could introduce into our hearts. i 

The innocent simplicity 

Of childhood passed to blushing youth. 

'Tis true we lessen'd frequency 

To our dear haunts and rendezvous. 

'Tis true we were less seen together 

But naught could thwart our love's progress 



24 ROSALINE 

Or could abate our eddying zeal. 

Nay ! came we to a fuller sense 

Of our unique attachment and 

Produced more tears, more sighs, more love. 

The sunny days of summer to us 

More charm than ever did portend. 

The birds sang sweeter and the flowers 

In deeper tacit eloquence 

Addressed our throbbing, spell-bound hearts. 

The brightness of the outer world 

Was blended with the inner joy 

And sweet felicity of love, 

And made our youth a grace, a bliss. 

So fair and charming Rosaline 

Was looming in my chanted eyes. 

That oft I wonder'd whether God 

Could e'er create an angel like 

Herself, for she, oh she, did stand 

The masterpiece of Deity. 

Was that belief of mine a trance? 

Was it a fancy or a whim ? 

That love did picture to my mind, 

My heart, my senses and niy soul? 

But let that loe whate'er it might 

I know (and don't want know no more) 

It ruled my thoughts; it governed my life; 

It formed my most resplendent dreams ; 

It sensatized my stolid heart ; 

It purified my youth and set 

My soul on path of piety. 

One day we climbed upon the hill 

Whose sumptuous verdure and whose wide 

Untrammell'd lovely sceneries 

Did oft attract us and infuse 

Great happiness into our hearts ; 

Simplicity into our thoughts, 

And loftiness into our love. 

We called that hill the "Thur of Youth," 

It was so dear to Rosaline 

(And certainly as dear to me) 

That many a time she dreamt of it 



ROSALINE -^ 



And told to me those dreams of her 
Pure heart that harmonized in my 
Attentive ears like tales of heaven. _ 
That day wa.s glorious, clear and bright. 
We had v^^ith us our favorite books; 
As then we planned to lull the hours 
With pretty poems and with songs. 
I had "The Works of Robert Burns," 
That never left my pocket; she had 
Great Byron's "Hours of Idleness." 
So cheering was the eastern breeze 
That swept the ocean's purple stretch 
And whisper'd through the orchards and 
Rose up to us so fragrant fresh. 
Taking Burns' precious booklet I 
Read out his "Highland Mary" to 
Her, and she shared my sighs and wept 
While leaning on my arm her cheeks. 
She made me oft repeat that song; 
But seeing how the Scottish lovelorn 
Made her emotion stir so wild, 
I paused at last and cheered her up 
By loving consolations and 
By earnest, prayerful words of love. 
"My Rosaline," said I, when she 
Had her old cheerful mood resumed, 
"A song ! You've always been so kind." 
She paused a moment then broke out 
The silence that o'erwhelmed our hearts, 
With most melodious, cheering tunes 
That ever swelled 'neath azure skies. 
Oh ! gloomy is the human heart 
That never dreamt his youthful^ dreams, 
And worthless is the life that ne'er 
Did worship in the shrine of love ! 
The sweetest happiest dreams of youth 
Did then possess our hearts, my sire. 
"Rise up," she said to me in one 
Of those energetic tunes that 
Characterize the daughters of 
This land when 'roused by duty's call 
Or moved to do their master's will. 



26 ROSALINE 

"Rise up, let ns be true, beloved. 

To God and virtue, as to love. 

I heard my mother talk last night 

Of a poor family that dw^ells 

In yon house by the railroad track, 

Of a sick mother, and a child. 

All whose incessant labor does 

Not e'en purchase their daily food. 

Our visit might prove a blessing to them; 

We might bring cheer to their sad hearts." 

So off w^ith unremitting zeal 

We went, no briers or thorns, no slopes 

Or ragg'd rocks could tire her down 

Or check my watchful care of her. 

The sun shone down with scorching heat 

And made us crave the pleasant hours 

We had upon the breezy hill. 

It was lunch time in that little cot, 

A piece of cheese, a loaf of bread 

Laid on a table gnawed with age, 

Did represent the family's meal. 

There was a stir within the cot, 

The son had then come home from work, 

Had on the table laid his meal 

(The simple poor same old meal) and 

Was helping his ill mother to share 

His food and living to live with him 

And dying they together die. 

"May heaven bless thee, my son," the old, 

Half paralyzed, gaunt mother said. 

As he had braced her in her chair 

And gave her half his bread and cheese. 

"May God, the Father of all good. 

The Giver of all gifts, grant you, 

My son. His all-abiding grace. 

And shield your path and fill your sheds 

With corn, and fill 3'our home with peace ; 

For He won't pass His children by 

Or fail to help them at their need 

Or ever mock a mother's tear." 



ROSALINE 27 

There was quite an estrangement when 

Fair Rosaline stood at the door 

And hailed them with angelic smile. 

They never speculated on 

A visit like that or they ne'er dreamt 

That men of wealth and glittering gold 

Were made like them of common clay. 

The mother whose tears soaked up her hread, 

The son whose cares choked up his heart, 

Both were amazed and kept aghast 

And silent for a lapse of time, 

As if of their poor means ashamed. 

Encourag'd by Rosaline's kind words 

And her sweet smiles, they brightened up 

And welcomed us with generous hearts. 

They offer'd their chairs to us, but we 

Took seats upon a bench and had 

Them both resume their lunch the while. 

Fair Rosaline kept teaching them 

And telling them the words of God 

And tales of sweet and soothing truth 

That were from her fair rosy lips 

Told out with double grace and charm. 

When lunch was o'er she helped the sick 

Old mother to her bed and laid 

In her lap all the coins she had 

And hugged her with a kind embrace. 

How touching ! were the mother's looks, 

That wander'd all around the cot — 

From empty cupboard toward her son. 

From Rosaline up toward her God — 

And muttered out just one soft prayer 

Afloat o'er tears of gratitude. 

O ! ye, all men of gold and wealth 

Who own the trophies of this world 

Have ye e'er tasted poverty 

Or cared to see the suffering poor? 

Have ye descended from your high 

And breezy halls to visit those homes 

Where men with souls like yours reside? 

If not, dear friends, then do it now. 



28 ROSALINE 

The years rolled on and Rosaline 

Left school, my sire, and faced the great, 

Wide, outer, tempting world and got 

In closer contact with her friends 

And shared society its fads. 

And gave to foreign vanities 

Her heart that was as pure as snow. 

'Tis not yet a full, gloomy year 

Since to the old world she has crossed. 

Alas ! all those celestial gifts 

With which our nation vies the world, 

All that high breeding totter'd down, 

And worshiped vanity beneath 

Her French colossal cenotaph. 

Whose shadow mars Christianit3^ 

I could no more bear up to tell 

To him those woes and sad details ; 

I hid within my hands my face 

And sobbed with a heart-rending grief. 

Moved by my pitiful tears he 'proached 

To me and by his gentle words 

And soothing consolation my 

High eddying grief abated, thence 

I raised my eyes and looked at him 

With a reverential, thankful glance. 

And from his half-closed, half-ope'd eyes 

That age enfeebled by his strain 

I saw two glistening, silent tears 

So slowly rolling down the folds 

And wrinkles of his trembling cheeks ; 

Then heard them tinkle in his lap. 

I realized, I felt his love, 

And his kind interest in me, 

I felt my sorrows shared by him. 

"She gave me up," continued I. 
"And did her fatherland eschew. 
She spurned the simple, honest love. 
And shunned to dwell in sacred hearts 
And be a goddess in a shrine ; 
And chose to dwell within the walls 



ROSA LINK 2?) 



Of monld'ring, crumbling castles of yore, 
And be a captive and a slave. 
She gave a 'busted' count her hand, 
And bowed with solemn oath her head 
To decked grave-like hypocrisy. 

God, God what a dream absurd. 
An empty drum, a chimera, 

A loathsome burden, hateful task, 
A worthless bauble, and a jest, 
Appeal to me this life of mine ! 
How can T live while my dear heart 
Departed and within my breast. 
Left aught but pangs disquietude 
And mould'ring ruins of a, once. 
Fair, gay and flourishing paradise, 
But now a barren, desolate waste. 
An herbless, budless, springless life, 
A surging sea, a lump of death." 

1 then with jealous anguish, wild. 
Threw down myself upon the ground 
And aimed to tear then myself up. 
"Don't sin against just heaven, poor lad," 
Cried he while in his fondling arms 
Embraced me fainting in his lap. 

When next I ope'd my eyes I was 

Laid down upon a bed of grass, 

Beneath a tuft of hanging rocks, 

And gales froro rustling trees nearby 

Were blowing life into my veins. 

His dog was guarding by my side ; 

Now snarling, barking sullenly ; 

Now sniffing about with eager watch, 

Or licking lovingly my hands. 

And shaking soberly his tail. 

I raised my head and looked around; 

There was no human to be seen. 

My clothes were wet and so my hair, 

And so the trodden grassy bed. 

When seeing me restored to life 

The speechless dog leapt wild with joy, 



oO ROSALINE 

And rushed amidst the bushes down 

The slope to break the happy news 

To his compassionate human friend, 

Who in a little w^iile appeared, 

Escorted by that faithful dog 

And carrying in his hat, along, 

Cold water from the bubbling spring. 

I rose up and toward him I sped 

And thanked him in a cordial tone 

And words dictated by a heart 

That felt immortal gratitude. 

I took the hat from him and meant 

To spill its contents on the ground. 

He got it back and watering a 

Sere little with'ring plant he said 

' Ne'er fail, young man, to shed a smile 

And scatter sunshine where'er you go, 

'For life conceals within its folds 

More misery, more darkened hearts 

Than e'er we thought of or divined. 

For in that smile and that sunshine, 

A weary, haggard soul may bathe 

And find an everlasting bliss. 

Oh, when on my inspection tour. 

This morn, I left my lonely home 

And found thee 'neath that aged tree 

That rears its head beyond the hill. 

And saw thee moaning, dank with tears; 

Thy loneliness, th}' looks all told 

The world to move and pass thee by, 

And let thee wail thy life away. 

I felt more sorrow than could bear. 

And to thy notice hence 1 stepped 

And did accost thee to thy grief. 

For I, young man, was brought up in 

An age in which humanity 

Was ne'er from its own self estranged. 

An age in which all forms of wealth 

And vain pastimes of life were for 

The peace that human souls infuse 

Each into each, poor substitutes. 

Oh, what a flatt'ring, shameful and 



ROSALIiNE '^l 



iMi-.-itic, tantalizing whim, 
Oh, what a selfish, wrong belief 
Appeals to me a certain creed 
That rules the spirit of this age. 
A whim that placed impassable bars 
Amidst our social human race ; 
That made the social ties so loose 
And shame to gloat o'er selfish aims; 
And man to curse his brother man, 
That hid his faults behind a screen 
Of crimeful, wicked, self-interest 
Which he mistermed a lawful war 
And a survival of the fit. 
An abominable wrong that would 
Drive off its maker wildly mad, 
If he from his old grave would rise 
To judge the fakers of his laws. 
It cast not few to outer despair. 
It turned good many wild as beasts ; 
It ruined well-meaning, zealous souls." 

And having squeezed up his wetted hand 

Picked up his staff, and coming to 

A sunny spot he placed it there 

To dry up in the high-day sun. 

I watched him with an earnest gaze. 

Amazed of his uncommon zeal, 

Despite all his decrepitude. 

'My sire," I said as he stooped down 

To take a soft seat by my side, 

' How can I e'er repay you for 

Thy care of me that does surpass 

All great rewards all human gifts?" 

"By never mentioning it, young man. 

By living up to Heaven's commands 

And never sinning as you did 

Against the sacred Christian peace. 

By casting all thy troubles away." 

"Is there a sinning in pure love?" 

Cried I, raising my sunken face ; 

"Is there an error and a crime 

In what the Heavenly Father breathed 



32 ROSALINE 

Within our human hearts, my sire? 

In what the whole creation moves 

And has its most harmonious being? 

A crime? An error? You say, sir, 

Of what God, Himself, is? A' fake? 

Of that most actual virtue that 

Does make religion possible?"' 

"Forbid it, God ! That e'er I should 

Deny what nature all around. 

With sweetest, truest, echoes proclaims ! 

Deny what my corporeal sense 

In soundest truth conveys to me ; 

What I do hear, do breathe and touch, 

And do behold in earth and sky 

And all the nooks of existence. 

From that litlc wee seed in the field 

To those gigantic worlds that whirl 

In space ; but this does manifest 

A wholly different phase, young man. 

What makes the good, a good, is not 

A virtue in itself, inheres 

As much as 'tis the way applied. 

For bad in virtuous hands may turn 

Out good while ignorance does make 

Of good a venom and a curse. 

I praise the love in thee, young man, 

I praise thy faithful heart that thorbs 

With sweetest, fond affection, but 

Do hesitate if to pronounce 

It a consistent, wholesome love. 

It far excells that ravenous sort 

That governs the motives of this age ; 

That base, ignoble, sordid lust 

So flirting, so seditious, that 

Does gloat o'er virtue's sweetest flowers 

Disguised in. love habilaments ; 

E'en in an age like this that claims 

A reaching toward the true ideal. 

"We are not made to weep and mourn, 
We have a nobler aim in view ; 
'Tis true, all sorrow emanates 



ROSALINE 

From tender, faithful, loving hearts, 
From souls replete with meekness and 
Abounding with docility, 
But ne'er devoid of hopelessness 
Which mars the pure implicit trust 
That binds the human and divine. 
Wherein love giving birth to grief, 
And grief to undivine despair, 
Religion suffers in their strife. 
And gives discredit to the heart. 
Wherein, young man, affections, while 
Are boasting o'er the lustful love 
Had climbed too high and fell. 
But I would rather see the race 
Climb high and fall and climb and fall 
Than see him ravishing in his lust 
Down by the morbid foot of time. 

"Pluck out this thorn of sorrow from 
Thy heart and fill thy days with good ; 
Go teach the erring world to spurn 
That noxious most pernicious lust 
That has been cank'ring human life. 
And has been making man a beast. 
And love a wretched infamy, 
A curse for youth, a desp'rate code 
That mesmerized the will of man. 

'Like a sweet spectral strain his words 
Rang in that quiet vale and pealed 
Up through the billowy foliage of 
The heaving, rustling trees, and struck 
Harmonious quivers in my veins. 
I felt he was the ghost of peace 
On earth ; the conduit of God's truth." 
'"Will then this age that swarms with true 
And marked progress be doomed?" said I. 
'"Yes, to some marked extent, for that 
Bright light that has for man dispelled 
The gloom of ignorance has cast 
A dark profile upon his soul, 
In which he hid his worldly loot. 



34 EOSALINE 

The virtues of this age, young man. 

Are numerous, but oh, how oft ! 

Its gay society displays 

So much of riotous living and 

So much corruption that would shame 

The vilest ages of the past. 

Tis e'en in this our glorious land, 

This land on whose free blessed soil, 

Beneath whose starlit loving skies 

The weary, haggard souls of all 

The human race a refuge seek. 

This land that stands for truth and love, 

For- freedom and morality, 

Has been polluted and defamed : 

It has been bowing down its head ; 

And has accepted what it had 

Eschewed and cursed in days of yore. 

And there the East now scoffs and jeers 

The West ; and there the broken down, 

Decrepit old does fool the new. 

Look to the myriad evils that 

Has flooded to this land in shape 

Of desp'rate aimless, reckless life 

Of luxury, of vanity. 

Observe our wealthy potentates, 

How they've to despotism recoursed ; 

How they are smothering virtue's cry; 

How they are copying revelrous modes 

And vain, foul customs from the East, 

And paying their prepond'rous gold 

To buy a name, or buy a badge. 

Oh shame ! ye sons of those esteemed. 

Illustrious fathers whose great deeds 

Immortalized their precious names 

In marble cold and hearts so warm. 

And whose dead sacred mute bones from 

The threshold of eternity 

E'er curse 3'our selfish, aimless lives.'' 

That is what caused thy misery, 
That is the life's boat on which thou 
Had cargoed all thy love and hope ; 
That has been tempted by the depths 



ROSALINE 35 

And sailed with all her buoyancy, 

But smitten by just one gale, young man, 

It wrecked and dashed thy heart and all 

Against the ragged shoals of grief 

On which thou lie now sad, forlorn, 

Bemoaning all thy youth away. 

Wake up, young man, prepare to hear 

What might to thee sound wondrous strange. 

'lis time, young man, we should awake 

To our gross errors and atone 

For our imprudence and our pride. 

That have hoodwinked us in the race. 

We've set a higher prize to things 

So worldly transient and so vain. 

And turned to heaven's concerns our backs, 

And in great many ways we all 

Have misapplied our ample means 

And swerved our efforts toward the wrong, 

The very system of our thoughts; 

The very education we 

Do suckle with the childhood milk 

And glean in schools and galleries 

Of knowledge is deficient, wrong; 

It banished idealistic truth 

And made us worship matter in sooth. 

Oh 'tis that flatt'ring, wheedling and 

Seductive "code of interest." 

It has its own dupes 'midst our ranks i 

That preach its gospel zealously, 

So unaware of myriad crimes 

That lurk beneath its air^ings. 

Trace wrong and folly to their depths 

You'll find there couching interest. 

Trace revelry, trace vanity. 

Trace luxury, trace recklessness, 

Trace selfishness, debauchery. 

Trace misery, trace all known crimes, 

There at the bottom interest you'll find. 

Is it then meet, young man, to build 

Our superstructure of progress 

On such a dangerous quick-sand? 

But this is what we have achieved, 



36 ROSALINE 

We teach it to our guiltless child, 
Who'll make, no doubt, the morrow's man : 
Thus sow in his receptive mind 
The very seeds of selfishness. 

The pendulum had swung with lack 

Of "interest" and thence produced 

The bleak, dark ages of the past ; 

And dealt a fatal blow to all 

The possible culture of the mind. 

But in the present age it knocked 

With "interest" the other extreme 

And dealt a fatal blow to all 

The possible culture of the heart 

And shut the gates of "heaven within." 

It then drove men to horrible grots 

Of sordid dry religion and 

To virtue's prairies where he hoped 

To win the promised paradise. 

It now drives men to revel with sin 

Hoodwinked by pride to stroll upon 

The highways of materialism 

In hope eternity to win. 

O. twin poor, grov'lling, straying worms. 

O, crude, erratic beings, alas ! 

This is what made thee shed thy tears 

And sob with an incessant grief; 

What made thy days as dark as nights, 

Thy nights as sleepless as thy days, 

'Tis interest, eccentric, wild 

That swept in its resistless flood 

All patrotism, virtue, love. 

'Tis interest that played its course 

In childhood years unhinder'd, free, 

Whence passions let so loose without 

The slightest impressive command 

Had erred, were ditched and went a prey 

To worldly vain concerns of wealth. 

Now here, so helpless as we are. 

We stand and watch our wealth consumed 

And squander'd in base, wicked pursuits. 



ROSALINE 87 

This is the odious spirit that 

Fills many a home with misery 

And makes our courts our busiest shops 

Our jails as crowded as our schools 

And our grog shops and filthy clubs 

The graves digged for humanity. 

Alas ! young man, if this our dear 

Great, lovely fatherland be doomed 

Before we take up to our guard ; 

For though my eyes with age are dim 

Aly mind, distracted and decayed, 

Lo ! there above the dim profile 

Of time a gath'ring storm behold. 

E'er bigg'ning dark'ning creeping on 

With a terrific weight that might 

Crush down the very pillars that 

Hold up our social dignity. 

Waste not thy time 'mongst sighs and tears, 

Go teach the world in words and deeds 

To stand for virtue and for love, 

'Tis sweet to shed a tear and breathe 

A sigh when our dear ones are missed. 

'Tis sweet to love; 'tis sweet to love, 

'Tis holy,* sacred and divine ; 

But let us not depart with love 

And pour it off in wasteful tears 

But keep it e'er within our hearts 

To purify them and redress 

The wrongs and inclements of time. i 

Thrilled up by his kind helpful words, 

Absorbed in their immaculate truth. 

That like a pealing voice from heaven 

Stirred up the elements in my soul. 

And like miraculous seasonal clouds 

Precipitated in my breast ; 

The deluge of another life. 

I mused and roved and roved again, 

Then suddenly stood up on my feet. 

Addressing him with humble words. 

But all alone I was ! He left 

No trace ! I searched amongst the trees ; 



38 ROSALINE 

I rushed down toward the fount, but none 

Was there ; I climbed the hanging cliff 

And cast around a watchful gaze, 

I saw him plodding his steep way 

Up yonder hill through bushes and thorns, 

Supported by his staff and lead 

By his big, sprightly, tireless dog. 

He looked to me like virtue's ghost 

Fighting its arduous course in life 

And tramping down the snares of sin, 

Triumphing, marching heavenward. 

I felt a godly stir within, 

And on that high, commanding cliff 

Under the crimson evening sky 

Down on my knees I knelt and prayed 

And pledged my heart and life in sight 

Of nature, that did echo my cry 

.And time that ceased his hurried fly 

Smiling above the reddish west 

To encore my true, humble prayer, 

"O Rosaline, I'll live to pray 

For thee and love to live and do 

Thy will, O God ! Thy will, O God !" 

-,;< :^ -Jf. -^f z'ti- 

The fall succeeded summer, and 
The snowy winters usher'd the spring. 
The fields did bud and flower and bloom. 
Rich harvests came ; rich harvests went. 
The leaves let fall again their leaves. 
Thus time drew toward eternity. 
And life drew nearer to its goal. 
The days were bright'ning cheerfully 
.\nd filling the once sad heart with peace. 
The sable hue of life exchanged 
With pearly dawn that did announce 
The brightness of the soul within. 

The orchards bloomed three times ; the young 

Apple tree that Rosaline and I 

Had planted in weird youth grew tall 

And almost shaded all our porch. 

Our pet sheep did give birth to three 



ROSALINE 39 



Young lambs with coats as white as snow. 

The lirst was very dear to me ; 

I loved him so I called him "Rose," 

x^nd alwa^'S hang (to make the name 

IVIore tit) upon his horns a flower. 

The past was still so dear to me 

You see ; its shadows often stirred 

]\Iy meditations ; but its gloom, 

All its despondence and despair 

Could not becloud the peace that reigned 

In my new heart or shake the trust 

My Saviour breathed within my soul. 

The tangible objects, time and space, 

The Ego and the Self are not 

The only fact realities. 

That form, the universe — there are 

Invisibilities that rule 

All matter, life and time and space 

And do establish harmony 

To their reactive entities 

And keep the human in direct 

Communion with the ones on high. 

It is true and established that 

The outer tangible things reflect 

Upon the hearts contentment, joy 

And pleasure ; but all these fade out 

When habit holds a sway upon 

The frail nerves of our mortal coil. 

Not so with that eternal joy 

That takes its rise within the soul, 

Replenished by the grace divine ; 

That like an ever-flowing stream 

Floods out all sorrow and despair. 

I had a constant cheer within 

My heart no day brought in new cares, 

No night new terrifying dreams. 

Not that big Mother Nature changed 

Her stable, uniform old laws. 

But that my soul gave up her whims 

The papers never failed to trace 

And give exhaustive long accounts 



40 ROSALINE 

Of Rosaline's in married life. 

To journalism that was not 

A mere dry, private, stale event. 

Nay, was indeed a national one, 

A vivid symposium of the faults 

And follies of our vain home life. 

I read all that and marvelled at 

The gossips that did till the land 

And did to me first sound so gross. 

One writer stated that the gold 

Which Rosaline had squander'd with 

Her count would weigh three thousand pounds. 

Another wrote, "Her fortune would 

(H nobly have been used) effect 

Converting millions back to Christ.*' 

A third one wrote : "Our fleet is not 

As strong as ought to be. The hulls 

Of some of our big battleships 

Are not enough thick-plated with 

Strong steel, for when in time of war 

The crew and ammunitions get 

On board they sink and show up but 

Few inches of protected hull. 

The gold that stie has wasted in 

The bars and cafes of Europe, would 

If to equip our fleet bequeathed, 

Give us the strongest naval force." 

What those surmises had in them 

Of worth, I did not know, forsooth. 

I was then chiefly more concerned 

About her home life, and the way 

Her count was wont to treat her in. 

All that, alas ! read out a sad 

And shameful, vile disgrace. 

They had no mutual, trustful love. 

She did suspect him and he did 

Suspect her of the sycophants 

Of whom each kept a petted horde. 

He married her to get her gold 

She married him but to assume 

His social title ; but at last 

When all her millions dwindled out. 



ROSALINE 41 

Ami when boliind his title she 
Met all the woes of scand'lous life, 
Dark Hades gulped within their souls. 
A cutting of their marriage tie 
Was by the papers predicted, 
And it was rumored that her folks 
Would not restore their prodigal child. 

Few weeks elapsed but nothing new 
Was told about her status till 
One Sunday morning when I took 
The paper and glanced rapidly 
O'er its lirst title page on which 
My glance caught in what read like this; 
"Confined in bed out on a farm, 
Attacked with fever, Rosaline, 

The Countess of , the daughter of , 

One of our multi-millionaires. 
Deserted by her count, is now 
A victim of continuous spells 
That might result in heart collapse. 
She is nursed b}" a mother and son 
Who were somehow conected with 
Her, as they say, wdien they were poor. 
The doctors gave no hope that she 
Will e'er recuperate." The rest 
Was soaked off in my tears. I ran 
Down to the depot and got on 
The train that soon was off amidst 
The outskirts of the town, and though 
She dashed like lightning I wished she 
Would take the tire that was raked in 
My heart and bear me sooner to 
The presence of fair Rosaline. 

The whole face of the farm was changed. 
The fields that but few years before 
Had been all cover'd with weeds were then 
All ploughed and terraced and fenced around, 
And green with grass and gay with flowers 
And blossoming shrubs of various plants. 



42 ROSALINE 

I Stole in 'midst the piles of ha}', 

And went around from shed to shed, 

But could not find my way therein; 

I went about and traced the road 

That Rosaline and I did take 

When once we visited that spot. 

I found the rock that she sat on 

Before we went into the cot, 

And saw the little shrub on which 

She leaned and whose little green leaves she 

Touched with her gentle hand ; and saw 

The very stone I stood on then 

When laid my cheeks upon her lap 

And listened to her sweet words and watched 

The drops of sweat that glided o'er 

Her rosy cheeks and fell upon 

My face with sacred soothing charm 

That will outlive eternity. 

The brook that murmur'd by that rock 

Was lending still a boundless charm. 

I also found the greenish toad 

Still leap from hole to hole, then post 

Himself upon a stone then dive 

Into the water, then spout out 

And sing his loud ancestral croak. 

Just as when Rosaline stood there. 

And listened with a pensive mood 

And praised the God of Nature who 

In ever}' form of life has placed 

A soothing form of happiness. 

I also saw the pebbles grind 

And chafe as ever in the brook, 

And whirl around, then tumble down 

Into the gliding current, and 

Wash off into the ocean wide ; 

Just like all other molds of life 

That struggle with time, and living their share, 

Glide on into the infinite. 

All that dear spot was heeded by 

The cruel hands of time, for love 

Divine was hov'ring o'er its seats; 



ROSALINE 43 

But all around it man's great hand 
Had wrought extensive change in sheds, 
In bowers, in fences and canals ; 
Thus could no further trace my way. 

A colunm of smoke that slowly furled 

And floated in the sluggish air 

Above a bunch of trees, to me 

Did then suggest the dwelling place. 

I walked on toward the smoke, and soon 

I found the road that led me to 

The mansion Rosaline stayed at. 

On knocking at the door an aged, 

Tall, stately woman soon came out 

With a rich smile upon her face. 

We recognized each other, but 

I was amazed at that big change, 

That proved to me how God ne'er fails 

To help his trusting children, and 

"Does never mock a mother's tear." 

She told me then how Rosaline 

Was anxious to see me, and how 

She often, on her bed of pain. 

Had sung of our past, happy days. 

"This morning," said the mother, while 

Wiping her feeble eyes, from whose 

Deep wells the tears gushed forth, "she is. 

Poor Rosaline, in critical swoon. 

We fancied for a time we lost 

Her, but about an hour ago 

She woke up, and begged us to send 

For you ; but we, not knowing where 

You live, we then attempted to 

Console her, but all was in vain. 

We prayed to God, and ere our knees 

Sank to the floor we heard your knock. 

She led me through the parlor to 
A large adjoining room, where, on 
Her bed lay Rosaline, as pale 
As death, and drooping like a flower 
That faced the autumn of her life. 



44 ROSALINE 

She smiled when I approached her side, 

And stretched out her pale hand to me, 

Whose grasp I felt in my hand like 

A fluffy lump of melting snow. 

Her eyes and mine met in a glance 

At which each turned his face aside, 

And wept the remnant of our tears. 

"The fault was mine," cried she, and gave 

Herself up to her sobs, with which 

Her soul was nearly gushed away. 

Feeling what error I fell in 

I 'proached her with a loving tune. 

And cheered up her sad heart, and said: 

"My Rosaline, (if yet thou do 

Allow this friend to call thee his) 

My Rosaline, save thy dear self, 

And live again for love and me." 

"Too late, too late," she mutter'd to me ; 

"Too late, beloved, for I've now passed 

The threshold of existence, and 

Now stand upon eternal soil. 

But oh ! beloved, how drearily 

The grave yawns to receive my soul ! 

How horrible that Ghost of Death 

That comes to pluck my heart awa}' ! 

How dark the world I fall into ! 

How fearful ! O ! my God, my God ! 

O let me live betwixt thine arms ! 

O guard me 'gainst this hideous death 

That'll snatch me from thy bosom, dear." 

"O Rosaline, dear Rosaline," 

Cried I with broken voice, "Lay all 

Thy burden at the Saviour's feet. 

For e'en the darkest valley of death 

Will brighten at his loving smile." 

"Too late, beloved, for what will that 

Repentence of the wretch'd avail 

Him while he slumbers in his grave?" 

"Nay, Rosaline, thou ne'er have been 

So wretch'd and lost that God's wide grace 

Cannot encompass and restore 

Thv soul to his salvation fold." 



ROSALINE 45 

*T have denied my Christ, beloved. 

I have, on death bed, spurned his grace ; 

And mocked His bleeding wounds upon 

The cross of human cruelty; 

And scorned His humble death for me; 

And doubted God's inlinite love 

And His infinite mercy; and 

Hurled down with my blaspheming hand 

All Godhood, wrapt with heaven and earth 

Into the dark, eternal nil. 

And buried my soul in their remains. 

I have committed suicide'' ! 

And poured the acid in my throat. 

' O. dying, wretched woman, Alas" ! 

Cried I and fainted by her side. 

Awakened by our host's good care 

I took the pale, dear Rosaline 

Between my arms, and wiped off with 

jNIy kerchief her bright, pearly sweat. 

"Shall we send for the pastor, dear?" 

Resumed I wnth a pleading tune. 

To which she gave a nodding consent. 

In a little while the pastor came 

In, holding in one hand the Book 

Of Truth, and in the other his staff. 

He looked quite old, and "crowned with all 

The chaste and snowy glow of age." 

He smiled on us, who gathered around 

Fair Rosaline's death bed, and laid 

The Holy Bible in her hand. 

She hugged it to her breast, and laid 

On it a silent kiss and wept. 

He beckoned to us, and we all knelt 

Down at her bed and listened to 

His touching prayer that seemed to pierce 

All fathoms of space, and reach the throne 

Of God, and bring his peace and love. 

We rose up and a heavenly light 
Was fluttering o'er her face, and her 
Sweet lips were muttering hopeful songs. 
We listened and heard her last sweet words : 



46 ROSALINE 

' "While the nearer waters roll, 

While the tempest still is high ; 

Hide me, O my Saviour hide, 
Till the storm of life is past ; 

Safe into the haven guide, 
O receive my soul at last !" 

Her cheeks waxed red, she ope'd her eyes 
And gazed at me with her most bright 
And radiant glance, then a rich smile 
Svvcpt o'er her face »»d carried her 
Into the great eternal world. 

Beneath a maple tree that grew 
And wafted its fresh fragrant breeze 
Beside the murm'ring cottage brook 
We buried Rosaline, and strewed 
I'he flowers o'er her grave, and wept. 

How little ! that tender piece of flesh 

That in the human breast resides, 

And calls itself a heart; yet how 

Grand and incomprehensible 

It fills itself with virtue, truth. 

And pure, divinely chastity. 

At other times with vice and dreams. 

Absurdities and chimeras. 

It beats in life, it beats out death, 

It beats aversion to mankind, 

And beats what angels sang to earth 

That .sweet and lulling strophe — Love. 

It is the lovers' wrecking boat, 

'Tis a tumultuous ocean dark; 

'Tis a bright, lovely firmament ; 

It is the heaven within us ; 

It is the dismal, dark abyss, 

The dusky, drear hell into which 

Humanity hurls down itself. 

O dear old seats of love and joy, 
In whose most sacred bosom did 
We shed the happiest tears of youth ! 



ROSALINE 

What wither'd thy gay and fragrant tlowers, 

Ye meadows of the days by-gone, 

Where oft we frolicked and beguiled 

The passionate storms of love and youth? 

Ye bowers installed and decked all o'er, 

And trim.med by her enchanting hands ; 

That shaded us on summer days. 

And 'mongst her roses and her twigs 

Did hide our endless tales of love. 

Ye leaves and buds that thrived so long 

On her benign and balmy breaths. 

What wither'd and nipped thy life away? 

What silenced, what did sadden thy songs, 

And trillings ye linnets of the past? 

chirping birds, what made thee weep? 

Ye Church of the great living God, 

Ye virtue's pure, solitary child 

That rear thy steeples in thy sky. 

And hail the world with peace, good will ; 

That ever lulled my burning zeal 

With peace so sweet and so benign. 

Ye pews where often to her side 

And in the shadows of her dreams 

1 sat and spoke my prayers and sighed, 
What made thee lose thy charm and bliss? 
What did to thee thy grief impart? 

What filled thee with a gloomy spell, 
Ye rocks, and cliffs, and dismal coves. 
Ye breakers that with their white foam 
E'er muffle the barren, sullen shore, 
And heaves the fath'mless, gloomy depths. 
And stir my gazing soul to rove 
As they our old dear haunts embrace, 
Smooth off her footsteps on the sand. 
Or murmur softly, sadly and 
Splash up the memories of the past! 



lUL 33 W08 






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